What if I don’t know what my passion is?

October 13, 2013 § Leave a comment

There is a lot of great advice out there on doing what you love, and maybe even finding a way to make money at it, and living happily ever after. Joseph Campbell popularized the idea in the ’60’s with the expression, “Follow your bliss.” This is wonderful advice, but for some of us, there is a step before following our bliss, and that is to figure out, what is our bliss? What if you don’t even know what you love with a great enough passion to pursue it wholeheartedly?

Discovering what your passion is often has different components. For some of us, one important aspect is uncovering parts of us that have been buried for so long that we’ve forgotten them.

Kids know what they love, and very often it isn’t what they are being taught in school. Or it is one subject out of many. In the educational system’s quest to make well-rounded citizens of our children, it forces every single subject on them with equal vigor. I’m not saying it’s bad to be well-rounded, but sometimes as adults, we have to do some digging to remember what we loved the most before we believed that we were supposed to be good at everything.

Or maybe your passion is something that you have not even been introduced to yet. If you have the slightest bit of interest in music, why not try a piano lesson? If you like the sound of Russian, try a class in it and see if you want to go further. If you can’t wait to watch the ice skaters every time the Winter Olympics comes on, why not get on the ice yourself?

On the other hand, sometimes we know exactly what we used to love, but feel that it would be impossible/useless/ridiculous to go back to it now. Who among us didn’t have a scary elementary school teacher who made us feel like we were bad at something that we genuinely liked doing? In my case, it was a 3rd grade teacher who was unnecessarily harsh when she graded my first poem (which I had been very proud of!). Or the role of buzz kill could have been filled by a parent, or even a classmate. Sometimes we become so convinced that we could never be one of the people we admire for their abilities that we give up without trying. And so our spark lies hidden, putting out energy that, instead of nourishing us, simply leaves us frustrated.

If you are in any of these categories and can’t figure out how to get your juice back, get yourself some coaching/healing on the issue! Nothing will spice up your life like doing what you love!

Get Back On Your Feet